Dragons speak Parseltongue too, you know
by Potterwatcher
Summary: This is a oneshot of what I think would happen if the dragon in the First Task of GoF could speak parseltongue.


**A/N: So, I've always wondered, if dragons are related to snakes, why can't they speak parseltongue too? This is my version of how the second task in GoF could have gone differently. Please R&R!**

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Harry took a deep breath before stepping out of the tent to face his dragon. He was just about to summon his firebolt when he realized that the dragon was… talking? "_What is going on? Are they going to hurt my eggs? Where am I?"_ Were some of the questions that he heard.

Harry's heart softened at the sight of the frightened young mother to-be. "_It's alright. No one will hurt your eggs"_

The dragon turned and looked at him "_You speak?"_

"_Erm, I guess. This just sounds like English to me."_

"_What is your name, speaker? Why am I here? What business does the humans have with my eggs?"_

Harry was silent for a moment as he tried to figure out how to explain the Triwizard Tournament to a dragon. "_I am Harry Potter, but you can call me Harry. A lot of humans are... silly creatures. They like having competitions, to see who is the strongest. This is one of those competitions, and the task is to get a fake egg from a nesting mother dragon, such as yourself, as fast as possible, because dragons are some of the strongest and hardest creatures for a human to defeat." _He finished, careful not to offend the fierce dragon.

"_My name is Et Smaragdus Ignis. You may call me Ignis. You sound as if you do not wish to partake in this contest, yet here you are. Why?"_

Harry sighed "_Someone else entered me in this Tournament against my will, probably hoping to kill me."_

"_I will not stand in your way. Fetch the fake egg, parva Corvum . After the task is over, would you care to visit me sometime? You are fairly intelligent for a human."_

Harry laughed "_Thank you for your kindness. I would love to visit you later." _Harry replied as he walked forward and grabbed the egg. Just before exiting the arena, he turned and waved to his new friend.

As soon as he got out of the arena Harry was bustled off to the medical tent by Madame Pomfrey. "What were they thinking, honestly, dragons!" She muttered before proceeding to check him over. "Harry, are you even injured at all?" Harry smiled at the lack of formality between them. Ever since the end of his second year, when Harry had spent hours and hours in the hospital wing with Hermione while she was petrified, he and Madame Pomfrey had been on first name terms.

"No. Ignis was really reasonable after I explained what was going on to her." Harry said calmly, right before he was tackled by a mass of brown hair that he identified as Hermione.

"Harry! Are you alright? Oh my goodness, I was so frightened when you didn't summon your firebolt." Hermione stopped talking when Ron entered the tent.

"You rotten parseltongue! What the hell did you do, agree to feed that dragon a bunch of first years in exchange for the egg? You really are just a dark bastard!"

"Ron!" Hermione gasped "He could have been killed!"

"But he wasn't! He wasn't even hurt! All the other champions were hurt, and they're three years older than him! There's no way that he could have managed that if he wasn't a dark wizard!"

"Are you even listening to what you're saying Weasley? Because we sure as hell aren't." Harry interjected cooly "I don't believe that anyone asked you what you thought. Now if you'll excuse us, it's time for the judges to give out my score." He finished with a glare as he and Hermione left the tent.

"I'm so sorry, Harry! I-I thought he was just being thick, but his sense of right and wrong is just as bigoted as Malfoy's."

"Don't worry, Hermione, it's not your fault that he's a prat."

"But I kept trying to get you to make up with that pig!"

"You only did what you thought was right. Now cheer up, the judges really are about to give out scores."

Harry and Hermione both turned to look at the judges. Madame Maxime went first, awarding him a very large 10, which Bagman, Dumbledore, and Crouch quickly replicated, while Karkaroff gave him a 7. When people booed at him for this Karkaroff yelled right back. "He vaz zuppozed to fight ze dragon, not have a nice chat with it!"

Dumbledore had to shoot several fireworks out of his wand to get the crowd calm enough for Bagman to announce the final scores. Bagman's sonorified voice boomed across the stadium. "Attention, ladies and gentleman. In third place, with a time of 22 minutes and 14 seconds and a score of 40 points, is Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts. Tied for second place, are Viktor Krum of Durmstrang with a time of 19 minutes and 56 seconds, and Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons with a time of 20 minutes and 22 seconds, boh with 42 points. The tie is due to the fact that Krum was penalized for destroying one of the dragon eggs. And last, but most definitely not least, in first place, with a time of 5 minutes and 28 seconds and 47 points, is Harry Potter of Hogwarts!

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**A/N: So what did you think? This little ficlet just popped into my head and begged to be written, so I did. I'm not sure if I'll continue or not, but for now it's just a oneshot. I'll find a way to tell you if I decide to continue in a sequel, or another few chapters or something. Bye!**


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